Nothing Changes Until You Choose

 

 The law of creation basically states that we are co-creators with God. We were designed to create and we are creating every minute of every day, whether we know it or not.

 

 We create with our thoughts, we create with our feelings, our words, and our actions, the things we do. And so we want to create something different. We want to create something new.

 

 We need to be intentional about that. The problem is that we get stuck. We get stuck in indecision.

 

 We get stuck in the same old problems, the same old patterns, the same old choices. And we're just stuck. We're waiting on God, but nothing's moving.

 

 Not choosing is what's keeping you stuck. It's not a space of faith to just sit around and wait for God to wave his magic wand and make it all better. It's not how it works.

 

 We're invited to choose. One of my favorite analogies is the analogy of the rock. I want you to imagine a rock that is sitting next to the river, and that rock just sits there.

 

 Someone can come and kick it. A dog can walk on it. The rain can fall on it.

 

 The snow can fall on it, but all it does is just sit there. We are not rocks. And when we find ourselves just sitting there and waiting or just sitting there in indecision, then we're not acting like we could and choosing.

 

 So there's a beautiful scripture that explains this very well. It is in 2nd Nephi chapter 2 verse 26, and it says, And because they are redeemed from the fall, they have become free forever. I love that free forever.

 

 That means that we have an ability. We have power to make a choice, and we can always choose how we respond. We don't always get to choose what happens to us, but we certainly have the power to choose how we respond.

 

 Let me continue with the verse. Knowing good from evil to act for themselves and not be acted upon. We are being invited to act.

 

 You cannot create until you make a decision about what you want and about what you're willing to do to get it. Our power lies in our ability to choose.

 

 If you want to create something different, if you want your life to have a different outcome, then you need to make a different decision. The challenge, like I said, is sometimes we want a guarantee.

 

 We want to know that it's going to work out perfectly, or we want to know that we're not making a mistake, and we're making the perfect decision, or we get so afraid that we procrastinate.

 

 And so today we're going to talk about how we can overcome all of that. We're going to start with Lot's wife. Lot's wife in Genesis 19, verse 26, she talks about she turned and looked back.

 

 She had been told and warned not to look back when they were leaving Sodom and Gomorrah, but she turned and looked back anyway. And Jeffrey R. Haund in his speech at BYU, remember Lot's wife, said something really interesting about this.

 

 He said, apparently what was wrong with Lot's wife wasn't that she was just looking back. It's that her heart wanted to go back.

 

 It would appear that even before they were past the city limits, she was already missing what Sodom and Gomorrah had offered her.

 

 As Elder Maxwell once said, such people know they should have their primary residence in Zion, but they still hope to keep a summer cottage in Babylon. End quote.

 

 The problem that Lot's wife had is that she wanted two opposite things, and sometimes I think we get stuck in the same pattern. We want this, and we want that.

 

 I really, really want to be healthy, and I really, really want to sleep in and eat fast food when I'm stressed out and I'm in a hurry, but the two don't match.

 

 We have to look at ourselves and say, okay, what is it that I want, and what am I willing to do to get it? The question I have for you today, I want you to make a list. First of all, decide what you want.

 

 What needs to change in your life? Where are you in pain? What needs to change?

 

 Make a list of those requirements, and then look at that list and say, okay, am I willing to do what it's going to take to get this?

 

 If you're not, that's okay, but then don't be mad that you're not getting what you want, because you don't want it bad enough, and that's the bottom line. Making decisions and choosing activates spiritual laws.

 

 In fact, some of the most powerful words on the planet are, I've decided. I've decided to get a different job. I've decided to get healthy.

 

 I've decided to not be offended. I've decided to be kind no matter what. Any I've decided really puts power into your life.

 

 So my question to you is, how can you incorporate that into your life? Again, the first step to creating anything is making a decision.

 

 Years and years ago, when I was building my business as an energy coach, I had a full time job as a sales manager, and there were a lot of things that I liked about my job, and there were a lot of things that I didn't like about my job.

 

 One day, in November, I had a really bad experience.

 

 I was talking to somebody that I was over, and I was explaining that our company was unable to meet her requirements because she had not fulfilled the requirements needed to get what it is that she wanted. And she was so angry at me.

 

 She was so upset. She screamed, she yelled, she swore, and she just let it all out on me. She said, I take this job and shove it.

 

 She really said that. She was so toxic, and so mean. I just got off the phone and sobbed.

 

 I cried, and I was heartbroken. Of course, back then, I took everything personally, and I made it all about me. It was a disaster.

 

 In fact, I was upset about it for days. But on that day, I made a decision. I decided that I was done with that kind of pain, and I was going to quit.

 

  I was going to give myself a birthday present the next May, and no matter what, I was going to quit that job. And guess what? I did.

 

 Once we make the decision, the Lord supports our decisions when they match His will, and we can find God's will.

 

 When we know that's God's will, and when we match our decision to His will, then He makes really important, powerful things happen, and miracles happen.

 

 Next May rolled around, and the week of my birthday, I quit, because I decided that I was done. And we can do that.

 

I invite you into that.

 

 So the questions that I have for you, the things I want you to think about this week, the invitation is this. What is it that you want? What are you trying to create?

 

 What needs to be different in your life? And what are you willing to do to get it? And then, of course, what is your next step?

 

 What will you need to do to move forward? The card that goes along with this, I have a set of scripture cards that I absolutely love.

 

 These are meant as a tool to help you to get more information, more answers, more revelation when you're reading the scriptures. They're also meant to give you hope on days you feel really discouraged, but the card I chose for today is Choose.

 

 And the scripture goes right along with the scripture that we already read.

 

 It's 2 Nephi 2.27, and it talks that we are able to choose captivity or death, or we can choose to be miserable, or we can choose life and eternal life, liberty and eternal life. We get to choose.

 

 And the question that goes along with it is, where am I drifting towards choices that bring stress or regret instead of life and joy?

 

 The invitation is, before making a decision, pause and ask, does this choice bring me closer to Christ or farther away? And then act on the answer that brings peace.

 

 Then the affirmation is, I make choices that bring me closer to Christ, peace and freedom.

 

 At the bottom of the card, as always, there is a list of other scriptures that are companion verses to help you do a deeper dive into that if you so choose. Thank you for being here today.

 

 Think about what it is that you really want in your life. What do you want to create? And if you've loved this, will you share it with somebody else?

 

 Thank you so much for being here. I hope you have a fantastic day.